380 Lccc Graduates Looking To The Future Students From Lehigh, Berks And Surrounding Counties Earn Degrees At Schnecksville Ceremony.

May 18, 2000|by ANNE KOVACS, The Morning Call

At age 18, Frederic Strohl left home to study at a four-year college in pursuit of a degree in chemical engineering.

"When I got there I was having a good time," he said. "But I wasn't learning too much, and after a year and a half I dropped out."

After traveling the East Coast for a few years, working in food service, he arrived in Scranton. There he met a friend who would change the course of his life.

On Wednesday night, Strohl and about 380 students graduated from Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville. At age 34, Strohl received an associate degree in nursing and is now a registered nurse -- with hopes of becoming a doctor.

Had it not been for his friend, Strohl might not have taken an interest in the nursing field. But after helping his friend, who was dying of AIDS, Strohl wanted to enter the world of medicine.

At first Strohl volunteered at the Red Cross as an HIV/AIDS consultant. In search of broadening his education, he enrolled in a vo-tech school in Wilkes-Barre. He became certified as a licensed practitioner nurse and received a diploma, but no college credit.

"I didn't have a college education, and I was stuck in a position where I could not advance," he said. "I really wanted a college education so I could move on in nursing."

Strohl moved back to his family in Lehighton to continue studying nursing at LCCC.

"I am proud of the way he turned his life around," said his mother, Patricia, who attended the graduation with Strohl's sister.

Because of the large size of the graduating class, two ceremonies were held. Two graduates were selected to give the commencement address at each ceremony.

"No one has taken away our right to be educated. Education and expression belongs to everybody," said speaker Michelle Faraco, a graduate with an associate of arts degree. Faraco, a mother of three, was named to Who's Who Among College Students.

She shared with her fellow graduates a message of responsibility to spread the pride of education with everyone, explaining it is a basic human need that should never be denied.

Speaking at the later ceremony was Wendy Pearson, a graduate with an associate in arts degree and an associate degree in applied science in criminal justice administration.

Receiving the Alumnus of the Year award was Cheryl Kunkle, a 1974 LCCC graduate who continued her education in the Temple University occupational therapy program.

Faraco told the graduates to celebrate their accomplishments.

For Strohl, there is much to celebrate.

As the regional president of the honor society Phi Theta Kappa, vice president of the Student Government Association and the college's Presidential Ambassador, Strohl found many opportunities at LCCC.

"Before going to college I had never flown in a plane. I never had a suit and tie. And I never had a computer."

In the past year as president of the honor society, Strohl traveled to Texas, California and Florida and throughout the region to deliver speeches to other community colleges.

With the future in mind, Strohl has set high goals for himself. He will return to LCCC to get a degree in the natural sciences, and then hopes to enter Temple University Medical School.

Until then, he will work in the emergency room of Sacred Heart Hospital and hopes to be elected as an international officer for Phi Theta Kappa.